www.iva.co.uk

When I took out my IVA my Insolvency Practioner was aware I had no assets, and the only reason I was signing up for it was because I thought I would lose my job if I went bankrupt.

I have been searching the internet, and have found out that I wouldn't have lost my job, and that this has been the case for some time, and certainly before I took out my IVA four years ago.

Therefore, surely bankruptcy would have been the better option for me?

Is there anything I can do about this?

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

No, I've not received a letter from anyone about going bankrupt(I did about 3 years ago, but just threw it away!), it's just something I looked at as I'm thinking more clearly now than I was when I took out the IVA, when it was hard enough to think about anything!

I will complete my IVA hopefully, it's going to be nice to have that third of my income back!

We do rely on our IP's to give us professional advice with regards to either IVA or Bankruptcy however we also have a responsibility to make decisions for ourselves.

The information you have found out now about not losing your job if you went bankrupt could have been found out at the time you were deciding what to do in all honesty, all it takes is a voice in the right ear or a search on the internet etc, answers are freely available.

So personally I do not believe you were mis-sold your IVA.

Best Wishes BP

ladyh!! I do agree with all you have said and I suppose if we are ignorant of a particular course of action then as you say we would not necessary enquire about it, valid point,

Best Wishes BP

Hi Banjo Player,

Bankruptcy wasn't even mentioned to me as an option.

I was just told that an IVA was the right solution for me, and they got me to sign on thr dotted line.

Due to the incredibly stressed state I was in(which I'm sure a lot of people on here have been as well) I took the advice of a professional.

I was open, said I lived in a rented flat with not even a car to my name, so surely Bankruptcy should have been mentioned?

I really hope that everything works out for you "struggling63" but I personally would stick it out if only 1 year to go, I know it is hard but at least you are on the home straight, I have just started and looking at 5 years to resolve my little lot.

Best Wishes BP

no one is miss sold an iva, you have a choice.

I did an iva, but looking back i should of gone BR for my situation, but i still say i was not missold an iva, i had a choice, and live by that

Some people are desperate enough to grab at any straw when they are in difficulty. Unfortunately for some of them, they agree to an IVA when is it is obviously not the right solution. They are just so happy to have what they see as a solution to their problems.

It is a pity that they weren't given more assistance in the first place.

Bankruptcy should have definately been explained and discussed with you, so you could have made a reasoned choice as to whether it was suitable to your circumstances at that particular time.

Perhaps one of the reasons you chose an IVA was also to pay something back to your creditors, which would have been unlikely in an IVA. Which firm are you actually with?

PayPlan told me that I should consider bankruptcy when I was enquiring about my situation. I didn't want to lose our house, (it had and still has equity in it), so I chose an IVA. At all times through the process, PayPlan made me aware of my options. I’ve just started my third year and although it’s not always been easy, I’m happy that I made the right decision.

We initially tried MoneyDebtCredit and they told us we had to go bankrupt. We did a DMP initially and then phoned Payplan to change the DMP to them and they suggested a DMP.

We've not looked back since.

Thomas Charles told me I didn't want to go bankrupt and didn't explain the pros and cons to me. Yes I was poorly advised, but I wasn't missold my IVA as I should have asked more questions. The thing is when you're desperate you think people are offering you the best advice. I found the forum too late, but it was a big help to me when I did go BR, and I hope more people can benefit from the advice on here.

Even though our IVA's are going well, I do wish that I had found the forum earlier.

I think that misselling is the wrong term to use. IPs do not sell IVAs but discuss all options and help the debtor choose the most suitable one. Advice is given and recorded but ultimately it is the decision of the debtor and not the IP. IPs have on file signed copies of what was discussed and what the recommendations were and quite often clients opt for IVAs against the advice of the interviewer.

There may be a few rogues out there but as an industry I do not believe that the insolvency profession does missell or badly advise because it will only come back at a later stage when the client can no longer maintain the payments. This is of no benefit to anyone.

I wonder if all IPs have those notes Michael? We actually get our clients to sign detailed discussion notes, and I have never had anyone come back to say they were misadvised.